Here's how downtown Spartanburg landed a minor league baseball team

Minor League Baseball returns to downtown Spartanburg, and with it, a $250 million project that will transform the West Main corridor.

County Councilor David Britt said the project is the largest development in Spartanburg since BMW announced in 1992 that its North American manufacturing plant would be built in Greer.

The announcement was made on Tuesday, and the team currently known as the Down East Wood Ducks is expected to hit home runs in Spartanburg’s downtown grain district in the summer of 2025.

What paved the way for Spartanburg to get the Kinston-based baseball team was Major League Baseball’s approval of the Texas Rangers’ sale of the “High A” Hickory (NC) Crawdads and the “Low A “Down East (NC) Wood Ducks to Diamond. Baseball holdings.

The purchase has been approved by MLB’s professional development leagues, according to the Texas Rangers organization. Both teams will remain affiliated with the Texas Rangers under DBH ownership.

Meanwhile, it has been announced that a new 3,500-seater stadium will be built on a 16-acre mixed-use site next to the AC Hotel in downtown Spartanburg to house the Wood Ducks team, which will likely be fame.

The stadium is part of a $250 million development project that will also include multi-family housing, offices and entertainment options.

There are a number of roadblocks before groundbreaking on and around Daniel Morgan Avenue and West Main.

As well as going through the city’s site and design review processes, communications director Christopher George said staff anticipate the project will require a development agreement that will be approved by city council before that construction cannot begin.

Here’s a breakdown of the key players, numbers and impacts of Minor League Baseball’s return to Spartanburg:

Public and private entities involved in transporting the team to Spartanburg

Downtown Spartanburg is benefiting from this windfall through the collaborative efforts of the City of Spartanburg, Spartanburg County, OneSpartanburg Inc, the State of South Carolina, The Johnson Group and Diamond Baseball Holdings. But there are many names involved:

The Johnson Group ― The project developer and owner of the 16 acres behind the AC Hotel where the stadium will be built.
Diamond Baseball Holdings ― The new owners of the team. Although the Texas Rangers sold the team, it remains a subsidiary of the Texas Rangers.
Robins and Morton ― The Birmingham, Alabama contractor who will build the stadium. Robins & Morton also built the AC Hotel, Wofford College’s Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium, and the Rosalind Sallenger Richardson Center for the Arts and the Chandler Center for Environmental Studies.
“Carolina Low A League” ― The league the team will play in, which includes competitors the Carolina Mudcats, Delmarva Shorebirds, Fredericksburg Nationals, Lynchburg Hellcats, Salem Red Sox, Augusta GreenJackets, Charleston RiverDogs, Columbia Fireflies, Fayetteville Woodpeckers, Kannapolis Cannon Ballers, and Myrtle Beach Pelicans . The nearby Greenville Drive plays in the South Atlantic League “High A”.

What to know about Diamond Baseball Holdings

Diamond Baseball Holdings was founded in 2021 by Endeavour, a global sports and entertainment company.

The Wood Ducks’ new owner, Diamond Baseball Holdings, owns more than a dozen other Minor League clubs, including the Mississippi Braves, Augusta Green Jackets, Rome Braves, Gwinnett Stripers and Iowa Cubs.

In August 2022, DBH was acquired by Silver Lake, a global form of private equity with over $95 billion in assets.

“The new stadium is an exciting next step for Minor League Baseball and for the future of Spartanburg,” DBH Executive Chairman Pat Battle and CEO Peter Freund said in a joint statement.

There will be a 3,500 seat stadium behind the AC Hotel

The stadium will be developed by The Johnson Group, built by Robins & Morton and owned by the City of Spartanburg. It will include a 3,500-seat stadium, a 5,000-square-foot clubhouse, and will be available year-round as a venue for public and private events.

Robins & Morton built Regions Field for the Birmingham Barons, a minor league baseball team in Alabama. This 8,500-seater stadium was also built on a tight schedule.

The stadium project is the next big step in the revitalization of the West Main corridor

The first major project in the Grain District was the AC Hotel, which opened in 2017. The hotel has 114 rooms and a rooftop bar and restaurant, Rick Erwin’s Level 10.

The city will also launch a $4.5 million streetscape project on West Main in the new fiscal year.

Several new bars and restaurants have opened in the Grain District and West Main area in recent years, including: El Paso Tacos & Tequila, Konnichiwa, Smallcakes, and Craft Ax Throwing.

The story of the new Spartaburg franchise

The Down East Wood Ducks moved to Kinston, North Carolina in 2016. The team was previously based in Adelanto, California, where they were known as the High Desert Mavericks.

Nor will it be their first name change. WNCT reports that according to Kinston Mayor Don Hardy as the city loses the physical team they want to keep the Down East Wood Ducks name.

When the team moved to North Carolina, a fan contest was held to choose the new mascot, with Wood Duck being chosen from a shortlist of finalists. The “Down East” part of their name was a nod to the Kinston area, but most league teams simply use the name of the town they are in.

Here’s how downtown Spartanburg landed a minor league baseball team

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